The Hyuuga Heiress Birthday
by Esmereina
Summary: Its Hinata's Birthday! She just turned 18! But there is something within her heart she tries to control but can't. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?


**The Hyuuga Heiress Birthday**

By Esmereina

It was a beautiful Thursday morning. The clock read 6:00am and Hinata groggily awoke to the sound of cymbals coming from her alarm. She yawned and stretched her arms as far as she could before plopping them back down to her sides. She slowly got up from her bed and wobbled a bit across her room to her bathroom. After she brushed her teeth, took a warm shower, blow-dried and combed her hair, she sprayed on some lavender scented perfume and headed toward her slightly opened window near her bed. She was still covered in her towel but she noticed an intriguing tune coming from her window and she just had to get closer to listen. She could hear birds chirping happily as if they were singing a birthday song to her. Hinata smiled for the first time that morning and she absentmindedly sang along with the joyfully chirping canaries perched on a tree branch near her window sill.

Hinata didn't realize that there was someone peering into her room from her door slightly ajar. This person silently opened the door a bit more and tiptoed into her room getting closer and closer to the happy but clueless singing Heiress. All of a sudden this person grazed Hinata's right side hip causing Hinata to jump in shock and gasp momentarily for air. When Hinata turned around she looked a bit surprised and a tad bit annoyed.

"Hanabi-chan, what are you doing? You know I am extremely sensitive there."(Pointing to her side hips) Hinata's voice was barely inaudible but Hanabi understood her perfectly.

Hanabi just giggled and exclaimed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HINATA-NEE-CHAN!!" Then she handed her sister the gift she had been saving up for 6 months on her allowance. She loved her sister dearly and would do anything for her, especially since she knows how hard their father is to her. "I hope you like it, Nee-chan. When I saw this I knew you would enjoy wearing it" Hanabi spoke as she smiled happily.

Hinata carefully opened the gift box and revealed a beautiful gold dove pendant with pearl embedded eyes and emerald studded wings. She couldn't believe her eyes nor could she believe that Hanabi had bought such an expensive gift to her.

"Wow, Hanabi-chan, I don't know what to say…I am speechless" Hinata spoke sincerely. Hinata really didn't know what to say. She also loved her sister dearly and they both never separated their bond regardless of how hard Hiashi tried to. "Hanabi-chan, this is the most precious gift I had ever gotten, and only because it came from you" Hinata responded caringly. Then she gave Hanabi a warm, tight hug that caused Hanabi to blush slightly since her sister's chest area was significantly larger than hers and they were touching under her chin warmly and nearly suffocating the poor girl's throat.

"Ne, Hinata-neechan!!! I…can't…breathe…" Hanabi choked out those last few words as Hinata realized she was suffocating Hanabi. She quickly let go of her little sister and giggled embarrassingly.

"I'm so sorry Hanabi-chan. I really do need to be careful with… these" Hinata looked slightly to her chest area as she said the word "these".

Hanabi responded while laughing, "It's alright, Nee-chan! I didn't die so 'What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger' right?

Hinata laughed as well, "Yes you are right! By the way, would you like to train with me today, Hanabi-chan?"

Hanabi was a bit surprised, "But Nee-chan, it's your birthday! You should be hanging out with your friends and partying like its 2099!!! Don't worry about me. I would be honored to train with you any day you wish. But you should really do something for yourself today nee-chan."

Hinata just smiled at her dear sister, "Hanabi-chan, I am doing something for myself today. I want to spend time training with you! You are my beloved sister but you are also my friend to you know. I can always meet up with Kiba and Shino later on today. You are forgetting we have about 12 hours of daylight left." As she said that she pointed to her clock of which now read 6:58am. "The whole reason why I even woke up this early today is so I could train and spend time with you all morning Hanabi-chan. I was about to surprise you in your room but I guess you beat me to it." Hinata laughed a bit at the last statement.

Hanabi smiled sheepishly, "Well I heard the faucet running in your bathroom as I walked past your room while I was about to get some water to drink. When I realized you were up I decided to give you my present once you were out of your bathroom." Hanabi turned a little bit red in the face. "And then I heard you sing, Nee-chan, and I couldn't resist a "surprise attack".

Hinata started to laugh, "Well you are just full of surprises aren't you, Hanabi-chan". Then Hinata gave Hanabi a kiss on her forehead. "You are such a sweet sister. I am glad that I have you in my life. Sometimes I wish you were the one to be the Heiress."

"Nee-chan…" Hanabi responded sadly. She never wanted to be the Heiress because she always looked up to Hinata and saw the strength her sister had that no one else saw. Hanabi was happy to be Hinata's sister. All of Hiashi's words putting Hinata down; Hanabi never agreed with him.

Before she could say anything more, Hinata interrupted. "Well… Let's go Hanabi-chan" she stated as she smiled warmly at Hanabi. Hanabi could only smile back and follow her dear sister. But then she realized something.

"Umm… Nee-chan…shouldn't you get dressed first?" Hanabi spoke. Hinata just looked at herself at her dresser mirror and realized she was still in her towel. Hinata sweat-dropped, "Hehe, you are right Hanabi-chan. Please excuse me for a moment while I change"

"Alright, Nee-chan…I'll see you at the front gate in a few!" Hanabi stated as she walked out of Hinata's room.

As she walked down the corridor she thought, 'So Hinata is finally 18 which means father will appoint her officially as the Heiress tonight. I can't wait to see how beautiful she will look. Thank Kami-sama she got rid of her stutter. Don't worry Hinata-nee-chan, you will be a great leader one day for us Hyuugas…even if you don't believe in yourself, I believe in you.' Then an image of Neji popped into Hanabi's brain as she stated, 'And I know he does too'.

Shortly after Hinata and Hanabi's training session, Hinata gave Hanabi a big hug and asked Hanabi if she would come to her room tonight before the Hyuuga ceremony to help her get ready. Hanabi was too happy for words and just shouted, "YAY!" to put it mildly. Hinata just giggled at Hanabi's burst of joy and gave her another hug. 'I'm so lucky to have a happy sister. I wish my father were this joyful for my existence' she thought a bit sorrowfully. But she made sure she didn't let Hanabi see a hint of sadness in her expression. And then they parted.

Hinata went off to visit her most trusted friends, Shino and Kiba. She went to Shino's house first but, Shino's father shook his head when Hinata asked him. When she went to Kiba's house, she was greeted by Kiba's sister, Hana. Hana told her that Kiba wasn't there but mentioned something about meeting someone as the Ramen shop. Hinata nodded and politely thanked Hana before she turned the opposite direction in search of Kiba. 'Even if Kiba-kun is on a date, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I just came in to say hello. I do wish to speak to him and Shino even if it's for a short time. Maybe Kiba will know where Shino is once I see him.' Hinata thought.

When Hinata arrived at the Ramen Shop, she noticed a lot of people she knew there. There was Ino, Sakura, Chouji, Shikamaru, and even the Sand Nin. They just waved at her and smiled but they didn't know about her birthday because they weren't really that close. Hinata just waved back and kept searching. Then she finally saw BOTH of the people she was looking for. "Kiba-kun! Shino-kun! I have finally found you both" Hinata shouted happily although not everyone could hear it because of her soft spoken voice and the fact that it's incredibly loud at the Ramen Shop.

"Oi, Hinata!!! Come over here!" screamed Kiba. Shino was motioning Hinata to come over as well. Hinata knew she was going to have a great birthday. First she got to spend time with her sister and now she found her dear friends. 'Maybe we can have lunch together if they haven't eaten yet' thought Hinata.

"So, how is our BEAUTIFUL Hyuuga Birthday Girl?" Kiba asked a little too excitedly. That's when Hinata knew… 'Kiba-kun is definitely drunk and 1pm no less'.

"Kiba-kun, how many shots sake have you drunk so far?" Hinata just had to ask. Kiba just put up two fingers and said, "Oh, about thiiiiisssss much"

"More like 7 shots, Hinata, Kiba couldn't wait to tell you Happy Birthday soberly so he had to turn into a lush before you got here" Shino stated flatly.

"Before I got here? But I didn't even know we were meeting here in the first place" responded Hinata.

"Well, we saw Neji yesterday and asked him if he could relay a message to you to meet us here. I guess he never gave you the message." Shino stated.

That's when Hinata just realized something. She hadn't seen Neji in two days. 'Where could he be?' she thought. Then she stated "Oh, Neji-niisan probably forgot. I haven't seen him since Tuesday."

"It is strange that we saw him yesterday afternoon and you haven't seen him in two days. You are the one who lives in the same compound and you are both related by blood" Shino stated suspiciously. "Are you two still having…problems?"

Hinata knew what Shino was trying to get at. But Neji and Hinata haven't had any problems ever since he apologized for nearly killing her. Their relationship got better but of course Neji isn't really the open-hearted type. There is always something about Neji that Hinata couldn't understand. But she never gives up trying to. That's her Niisan after all. She loves him no matter what! Sometimes she wonders if she loves him even more than she ought to.

Hinata answered, "I-Iie, Shino-kun, we haven't had any problems. There is nothing to worry about" she smiled happily. Maybe a little too happily. "Maybe he is just too busy during the day. I sleep early and he does not. We are on different teams and such. So it's pretty easy to miss each other when we live separate lives." She tried to even reassure herself with that statement, but she still couldn't help but feel a bit sad that she hadn't seen Neji especially since today is her birthday.

"Whatever you say, Hinata" Shino responded after hearing her lame excuse. "Now, let's celebrate your birthday. Although Kiba started early on the drinks, we still haven't eaten and we were waiting for you. So let's eat. For that is what comrades do. Eat together, celebrate and enjoy each other's company." Shino stated factually.

Hinata laughed nervously at Shino's interesting way of speaking, "Right, Shino-kun, thank you for inviting me to eat with you." Then she bowed.

After her birthday lunch with Shino and Kiba, they both gave her a present. Shino gave her a rare butterfly hairclip. His reason was so that she could see well since her hair can get in the way of using her Byakugan. Hinata just shook her head at that thought. Kiba gave her a stuffed animal puppy that looked similar to Akamaru. Hinata giggled a bit and snuggled her new addition to her stuffed animal collection. 'I should really throw some away, but I can never grow old of these cute things' she thought. Kiba just smiled serenely at her, partially because he was still a bit drunk but sober enough to not say anything perverted. They gave each other one big group hug (since that's what comrades do according to Shino) and then they parted.

Along the way home Hinata looked at her digital watch. 'It's nearly 5:00pm' she thought. 'And I still haven't seen Neji-niisan. Does he not want to wish me a happy birthday?' She wondered sadly. She was about to cry at her last thought but then she stopped herself. 'Wait a minute; I will see him tonight at the ceremony. He is part of the Hyuuga clan. We will have to bump into each other then.' She began to smile a bit at this thought and continued walking toward the Hyuuga compound to get ready.

Hinata finally reached to her room and started looking for the perfect outfit to wear. She knew what this ceremony was all about. She would be officially named the Heiress of the Hyuuga clan since she is of age. She had to look pious and noble like a purebred canine. She hated the ceremony for this reason. She felt like tonight she will really be scrutinized by every Hyuuga member, even the branch members. The only person she knew who had faith in her was her sister, Hanabi. Neji made her feel this way too sometimes, but other times he would unknowingly revert to minor insults whenever they would train together. Hinata wasn't sure if he was trying to hurt her emotionally… or make her stronger.

She finally found the perfect kimono. It was shimmering white with gold embroidered plumeria flowers stitched all around the kimono. 'This would look so great with the present Hanabi-chan gave me this morning. Atleast I can look the part of a pious and noble Heiress' Hinata thought. As she was about to take another shower, there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in, dear" stated Hinata expecting it was Hanabi. She was about to take off her shirt when…

"Dear?" Stated a manly voice Hinata knew all too well.

"Ne-neji-niisan!" Hinata cried shockingly. 'Of all the times to come see me he chooses now? And I was about to get naked in front of him. How embarrassing' she thought. "I-I'm s-sorry to call you that... I-I thought you were H-Hanabi-chan" she apologized while stuttering a bit.

"It's alright, Hinata-sama. I don't mind it, I just never heard you say it to me before. That's all. But you didn't even realize it was me until after I said something. I am starting to wonder if you are even improving on our training sessions. You should have noticed me before I even approached your door." Neji stated a bit too flatly. He really didn't mean to say it so monotone-ish but it was his way of speech he just couldn't control sometimes.

"Well maybe if we trained yesterday then maybe I would have improved to your liking, Neji-niisan" Hinata stated unusually flat. 'OMG Did I just snap back at Neji-niisan??'

'OMG did she just snap back at me?' Neji thought in shock. That is not the usual Hinata-sama he is used to. 'She must be mad about something' Neji was a bit concerned now.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around you for a couple of days, Hinata-sama. I even had a message I was suppose to send to you from Shino and Kiba. But I guess it is too late now. I was too busy, Hinata-sama, please forgive me" Neji then bowed to her apologetically.

She wanted to ask what he was doing. She wanted to find out why he didn't bother to see her yesterday. He was her protector after all. He was supposed check up on her everyday at least once. She wanted to ask, but she knew it wasn't her right. He isn't chained to her. And she would never make him feel that he was.

"Neji-niisan, it's alright really. And I ended up meeting with Shino and Kiba anyway…I was just… I don't know… wondering if I did anything wrong for you not to want to be around me yesterday. You are free to do whatever you like. You are my protector, not my slave. You aren't chained to me. I just...well…m-missed you, I guess…" she hoped that she wasn't revealing too much of her true feelings she keeps hidden from him. If he ever found out she had possibly more than brotherly feelings for her cousin, he might never speak to her again. She doesn't want to lose his friendship. 'I am allowed to miss my cousin, aren't I?' she questioned herself.

"Why… did you miss me? It was only less than two days we didn't see each other, Hinata-sama." Neji couldn't help but ask. 'Is it possible…that she has feelings…for me too?'

"I… umm…" Hinata started to turn bright read on her face. She was afraid. She was a bit upset at herself. She can't spill it. She just can't!

"Oh wait, I almost forgot!" Neji stated as he pulled a small box and knelt in front of Hinata.

'Is he proposing to me so suddenly???' Hinata wondered in utter shock. When Neji saw her reaction and then looked at his position, he realized that she was getting the wrong idea. Neji stood up and smiled a little bit while sweat-dropping, "Oh, no Hinata-sama…don't worry I wasn't trying to…I just wanted to give you this present for your birthday. Happy Birthday, Hinata-sama". Then he kissed her forehead gingerly.

'He…He kissed my forehead…and he…gave me a present...for my birthday' Hinata blushed crimson red at this point. These actions were not something she would expect from Neji, so she had every right to blush. It's not because she is in love with him…right... I mean… right? 'Oh Kami-sama, I am in love with my cousin. What do I do?'

"You should open the present, Hinata-sama" Neji smiled a bit. 'OMG is he reading my mind? No, he can't be… maybe I'm just…' Hinata couldn't stop thinking.

"Uh, hello, earth to Hinata-sama, the present…" Neji tried to snap Hinata back into reality. 'She seems dazed. Maybe my smile scares her.' Neji began to frown a bit.

"Niisan, why are you frowning now?...I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you angry" Hinata asked sadly while looking at the ground and putting her two index fingers together.

"Iie, it's not that…actually," he began to chuckle a bit "I just thought my smile was scaring you into space" Neji stated embarrassingly.

"Oh no, Niisan, I love your smile. You have the best smile ever. Please never think you scare me with your smile. You make me happy when I see you like this. It's different from your usual self. But it is also very nice" Hinata responded without thinking it through.

"You…love my smile? Heh, then I should smile more often." Neji stated while smiling. 'He is smiling just for me this time.' She thought.

"Well, aren't you going to open up the present?" Neji just wanted to see her reaction to what he gave her. Hinata opened the box and revealed a beautiful dove bracelet that coincidentally matched the pendant Hanabi gave her. And there was an inscription engraved on the inner part of the bracelet that read, "For my lovely Hinata-sama of whom I believe in, love, Neji-niisan". Hinata was turning the brightest red in her entire life. 'OMG he called me his. And he says he believes in me. And and... He said it all with …love' Hinata was on a verge of a melt-down…a happy, blissful melt-down.

'Maybe what I wrote was a bit too strong; I hope she doesn't hate me for it' Neji thought. Just like Hinata, he was afraid to admit his true feelings to her. Partially because he also felt he shouldn't love his cousin this much. But he couldn't keep it inside for long. And neither could she.

"Hinata-sama…"

"Neji-niisan…"

At the same time both Hyuugas exclaimed,

"I am in love with you"

"…"

"…"

"You... you are?" Neji was the first to speak after the moment of silent shock.

"And…also you?" Hinata responded with another question.

"Yes, for a very long time. Even when I hated you, I loved you deep within my heart, Hinata-sama. I felt that this love was wrong because we are so directly related. I tried to push it away. But I just couldn't. And then I thought, if this was wrong, then how come I feel this strongly about you. Is it because I can't have you, or is it because my love for you isn't wrong at all. I tried to like other girls. Even with Tenten. As nice as she is, I still couldn't stop thinking about you. And every other girl just disgusted me. But not you, Hinata-sama." Neji inched a little closer to Hinata and cupped her hands in his. "If what I feel is so strong for you…then it can't be wrong"

"Oh Neji-niisan, I…I have felt the same way. Even with my crush on Naruto. It was all just to push away my love for you because I thought my love for you was wrong too. Even with my infatuation with him… I still felt the difference. My love for you was always stronger with more meaning embedded within my heart. After Naruto had left to be with Sasuke, I felt it was a sign that Kami-sama wanted me to love you. But I was still too afraid to even mention it. But now…" Hinata inched closer and closer to Neji's lips and brushed her lips slightly on top of his. "I'm not afraid anymore"

And then they kissed tenderly.

Hanabi was at the other side of her bedroom listening to their conversation. She had purposefully told Neji to go see Hinata prior to the ceremony. She knew that Neji had something to say to her and she also knew that Hinata wanted to see her Niisan. She didn't know about their secret love for each other though. Hanabi couldn't help but smile. 'Finally someone else who loves Hinata-nee-chan like I do' thought Hanabi. Then Hanabi knocked on the door.

Neji and Hinata stopped their kiss and then Hinata said "Come in"

Hanabi walked in and said "Nee-chan, you need to get ready for the ceremony it starts in less than an hour" She didn't want to interrupt their intimate moment but they were on a time schedule after all.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. I forgot" Hinata said while she rushed into her bathroom to take a shower leaving Neji and Hanabi in her bedroom.

"Well, I guess I better leave before she forgets I'm still in her room and she comes out in her towel" Neji grins sheepishly while imagining Hinata in a towel.

"You are such a pervert. No better than Kiba" Hanabi snapped at Neji.

"But I didn't even say anything…" Neji stated a bit nervously.

"But you WERE THINKING it, Niisan" Hanabi responded.

'Damn how does she know what I was thinking?' Neji wondered.

Shortly after the ceremony, Hinata was finally dubbed the official Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan and all the Hyuugas were surprisingly happy about this occasion. Even her father gave a speech about how Hinata had grown from a worthless Hyuuga to a newly improved potential leader. He did mention that Neji was part of her improvement, but she didn't mind the accreditation. She agreed with that statement too. 'At least I gained a little bit of father's respect. It's better than nothing.' She thought contently. She looked at her sister with loving eyes. 'Hanabi-chan, you never doubted me, my dear sister, and for that I will strive to be the Heiress you believe in' Then Hinata looked at Neji and noticed he was looking at her too…smiling. As if she were speaking to Neji she thought 'And I won't give up on our love either.'

"So Hinata, Did you have a wonderful birthday?" Asked Hiashi.

"Oh yes, father, it was the best birthday I ever had, and I wouldn't want it any other way, thank you Otou-san" She bowed in Hiashi's direction.

Hiashi bowed to her back in respect and walked away. 'Certainly father respects me now, we have come a long way, haven't we father?' Hinata thought solemnly.

'This is definitely a birthday I would never forget!'

THE END!

Wow…I just made a pretty long one shot about Hinata's Birthday! Well I was on a roll. I may have some grammar mistakes since I am forgetting a lot of what I had learned in college. Please excuse my bad grammar. But all in all I am very happy about how this turned out. And its all for Hinata-sama!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HINATA-SAMA!!!!!!!

And I know some of you are wondering about my other fanfic…well I am not discontinuing it... but I did sort of have a writer's block. So once I gather my thoughts about the other fanfic I will continue it. I'm sorry for not updating it.

Thank you all for reading my fanfic. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!


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